VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Oct. 25, 2012) - LOTTO MAX fever has spread across the province and country. Lottery players have until 6 p.m. Friday, October 26 to buy their tickets for the chance to win the $50 million LOTTO MAX jackpot as well as 50 MAXMILLION prizes of $1 million each.

"You can feel the excitement among lottery players," said Kevin Gass, VP of Lottery Gaming at BCLC. "For instance yesterday (Wednesday) we sold 50 percent more Lotto Max tickets than last Wednesday."

Only once before has a Canadian lottery game come close to a prize amount of this size. In July this year, LOTTO MAX grew to a $50 million jackpot and 50 MAXMILLIONS before the jackpot was won.

"We anticipate more than half of all LOTTO MAX sales in the final two days leading up to Friday's draw," added Gass.

B.C. is the only province to have a MAXMILLION winner on each of the last three LOTTO MAX draws.

LOTTO MAX FACTS:

• Fifteen $50 million LOTTO MAX jackpots won in Canada since the game launched in 2009.
• Most recent LOTTO MAX jackpot won in B.C. was for $25 million in July 2012.
• The number '28' has been drawn the most times in all LOTTO MAX draws.
• Odds of winning a jackpot or MAXMILLION prize are 1:28,633,528.
• Draws held every Friday night.
• A $5 ticket features three chances to win.
• Tickets can be purchased until 6 p.m. (PT) on the day of the draw.
• To win the jackpot, players must match 7/7 numbers.
• Odds of winning any prize are one in 6.6 per play.

MAXILLIONS:

• When the LOTTO MAX jackpot reaches $50 million, prizes of $1 million MAXMILLIONS are added.
• Players must match 7/7 numbers to win the corresponding MAXMILLION prize.
• The number of MAXMILLION winners in B.C. to date: 50

LOTTO MAX can be played at any Lotto or Lotto Express retailer or at www.PlayNow.com. Winning numbers can be found at www.bclc.com following each draw.